68 Charger R/T Clone refurb

[moparsaver]

Excellent workmanship.
That first ride with the family will be Epic.

 

[funknut]

Thanks! I definitely can’t wait.

 

[funknut]

Minor progress but it’s progress!

Installed the taller throttle cable bracket, so that’s something.

Tried uploading a pic but it keeps loading upside down.

Trans cooler arrives today, so in preparation I tried to get the transmission cooler lines and fittings installed. With the headers and trans cable bracket there’s not enough room for my meat hooks. I will probably end up loosening the header and/or removing the trans cross member to drop the back end to get a bit more room.

 

[funknut]

Been a while since an update, and honestly not a whole lot happened since Aug last year. Shame, too, because we had some great weather through October. Between summer, back to (home)school and some changes at work it was hard to find the motivation at the end of the day.

I've been chipping away on a few small things since then. With the weather warming up I'll be in the garage more now. My goal is to get it on the road before the end of April.

Spent a bit of time cleaning up the garage, and on the car I've:

- swapped in and heat-wrapped a longer shifter cable, reinstalled the shifter.
- Bent up the transmission lines to clear the shift cable bracket
- heat-wrapped the speedo cable
- removed the oil pan to chase a big leak out the back. Looks like the back pan rail was warped, probably overtightened. Even with all the sealer the last shop gobbed in there they couldn't stop it.
- cut and installed moisture barrier for the doors.

There's probably a few things I'm forgetting, more updates to follow over the next few weeks!

 

[funknut]

Lots of little stuff done.

- New oil pan is in, I used the Superformance gaskets. I've heard good things. Filled with oil.
- Crimped and installed battery ground cable plus engine to frame strap.
- Ordered interior panel clips
- Welded in a trans cooler bracket to the lower core support
- Installed the radiator and fans, hopefully for the last time!
- 3D printed some standoffs to take up the gap between the radiator and trans cooler top mounts

I'm using the OE transmission cooler lines, so I needed some 90 degree elbows to connect from the lines to the cooler. Ordered one of these and will chop it into 2 90s

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J5YRJRO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Radiator is in:

Trans cooler bracket

Radiator standoffs

My goal is to get it fired by next weekend. I need to:

- Install trans cooler, fill trans
- Adjust shifter cable
- Adjust throttle cable
- Do a final check of the cabin wiring. I have a couple grounds to run too.

I'll do the front end wiring once I get it to fire, then I should just have to install the grill, driver fender, windshield and interior and it should be good to head off for alignment? Feels weird to be this close!

 

[funknut]

Installed trans cooler, filled trans, adjusted throttle cable, heat insulated shifter cable, reinstalled drag link, rerouted negative battery cable.

Had to make a run for coolant, but I should just need to connect the battery and do a smoke test. If I pass then may try and get it started!

I changed so many things over the last two years I’m worried I forgot something. Guess I’ll know soon!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Awesome!!!! Getting close!!!

 

[funknut]

Solid progress today.

- Filled with coolant, tightened hose clamps, cleaned up floor.
- Tidied up the engine bay, re-routed a few wires
- Installed ground wires from dash frame to cluster and steering column.
- Installed and hooked up the battery, no smoke, yay!
- Chased a brake light issue, left inboard rear light would come on high just with the running lights on, stay solid high when using turn signals. Turns out I installed the wrong bulb pigtail. The American Autowire kit comes with additional pigtails for other similar models that aren't needed with the '68 Charger. Easy fix! Unplug pigtail, install correct one.
- Radio works! Sounds pretty decent too. I haven't gone through the manual to see all the features, but was able to get my phone paired to it and play via bluetooth.
- Dome light does not work. It didn't before the rewire, though. I need to get in there with a probe and check it.
- I was not able to get the starter to kick over with the key. Ignition switch is working, but looks like I'm not getting ground from the transmission park switch. Verified that the trans is in park, not sure what the problem is, maybe a continuity problem? I'll continue troubleshooting that later.
- I did verify that the starter works by bridging the solenoid connections, engine turns. Sounded a little slower than I remember, though.

I wasn't brave enough to try and start it yet, I want to check over the engine bay wiring with my trusty power probe before attempting that. Will definitely try tomorrow though!

If you aren't familiar with these, they are super awesome for troubleshooting auto wiring issues. You connect to 12v and whatever ground (battery, body, etc.) and it will detect 12v and ground, plus with the switch you can send 12v or ground to the tip of the probe. It's super handy and a nice complement to a multimeter.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Probe-...nics_and_Diagnostics/dp/B00I0L808A/ref=sr_1_6

 

[funknut]

She runs!! I almost can't believe it! It's been just over 2 years since I started taking it apart and if I'm honest there were plenty of times where I thought "I'll never get this back together." All the gauges work, except maybe temp, I wasn't able to run it for long. I need to get it outside to run it long enough to get it warmed up, it's baking the paint on the headers and I'd rather do that out of the garage.

I chased a no start issue for a bit, but tracked it down to a loose bulkhead connector. The American Autowire harness tells you to epoxy the connectors from the back side to secure/waterproof them. I held off on that to make sure I hadn't screwed anything up. No big deal.

- One small trans leak from a loose fitting. Fixed!
- One small fuel leak from a bad hose end. On the list!
- Fuel regulator probably needs tuning.
- Wired up the door switches and courtesy lights.

I am not able to start it from the key in Park. I went under the car and probed the NSS and I only get ground in Neutral, not Park. Not sure if that's right, I think I should get ground when in Park? I'll post up in the appropriate section. Maybe something happened when the trans was rebuilt?

Here's a short video of it running. Still lots to do to get it back on the road but it's all relatively small stuff I'm much more familiar with, so those parts should go quickly!

 

[1 Wild R/T]

AWESOME!!!!! Great to see it back among the living!! Soon it will actually be a car again...

 

[funknut]

While I’m waiting on a couple things to start on the front end wiring i knocked out a few jobs.

Coolant recovery tank is installed. I may have to move the horns slightly but they may fit in the stock location

Also got my seat belt bolts in and did some final tweaking on the package tray cover to make room. Installed the back seat divider and back seats. I had my assistant test them out, she approves.

 

[funknut]

Sometimes the simplest things become the hardest things! ;)

I replaced every wire in the car except one, and wouldn't you know that's the one to give me trouble. The dome light bulb was removed when I got the car, and there were boxes of fuses in the dash, so that should have been my first clue, I suppose. Anyway, I re-pinned the dome light wiring to connect to my new harness and it popped the fuse as soon as I put the bulb in. The American Autowire kit comes with a dome light socket and wiring, so I figure I'll just chase the old dome light wiring as I remove it, then pull the new one through. No luck, it's super stuck in there, somewhere in the A pillar. Ok, I checked continuity through the wire and it didn't seem to have a short, so I just soldered in the AAW dome light socket. All good now, light works...2 hours later. ;)

I replaced the rear door cards with new legendary units and they look pretty great next to my crappy doors, so I went to see about ordering some. Jegs said May on their site, which surprised me, but I figured I could be patient...but when I placed the order it now says end of October! Looks like the PUI ones are just as badly backordered, I was told 40 weeks for those. Crazy.

I was planning on going back to the vacuum-operated headlight doors, but I'm not considering the electric motor kit. I spent a bunch of time keeping the engine bay tidy, I'm not sure I want the vacuum lines in there either. I'll do some shopping around this week to see if I can get a kit in a reasonable timeframe, otherwise I'll have to think it over.

 

[Jarven1977]

Sometimes the simplest things become the hardest things! ;)

I replaced every wire in the car except one, and wouldn't you know that's the one to give me trouble. The dome light bulb was removed when I got the car, and there were boxes of fuses in the dash, so that should have been my first clue, I suppose. Anyway, I re-pinned the dome light wiring to connect to my new harness and it popped the fuse as soon as I put the bulb in. The American Autowire kit comes with a dome light socket and wiring, so I figure I'll just chase the old dome light wiring as I remove it, then pull the new one through. No luck, it's super stuck in there, somewhere in the A pillar. Ok, I checked continuity through the wire and it didn't seem to have a short, so I just soldered in the AAW dome light socket. All good now, light works...2 hours later. ;)

View attachment 1099465

I replaced the rear door cards with new legendary units and they look pretty great next to my crappy doors, so I went to see about ordering some. Jegs said May on their site, which surprised me, but I figured I could be patient...but when I placed the order it now says end of October! Looks like the PUI ones are just as badly backordered, I was told 40 weeks for those. Crazy.

I was planning on going back to the vacuum-operated headlight doors, but I'm not considering the electric motor kit. I spent a bunch of time keeping the engine bay tidy, I'm not sure I want the vacuum lines in there either. I'll do some shopping around this week to see if I can get a kit in a reasonable timeframe, otherwise I'll have to think it over.

Go electric on the headlight doors, much tidier installation and it's nice seeing them go up and down simultaneously, always.

 

[daytona kid]

I was planning on going back to the vacuum-operated headlight doors, but I'm not considering the electric motor kit. I spent a bunch of time keeping the engine bay tidy, I'm not sure I want the vacuum lines in there either. I'll do some shopping around this week to see if I can get a kit in a reasonable timeframe, otherwise I'll have to think it over.

I took off all the rusted/rotted vacuum system and all its parts. Left just bare doors which I prop open for night ops with a couple of small pieces of roll bar pad foam., works great and not many people have ever noticed. Electric kit is nice but not in my budget at the moment.

 

[66 Sat]

I took off all the rusted/rotted vacuum system and all its parts. Left just bare doors which I prop open for night ops with a couple of small pieces of roll bar pad foam., works great and not many people have ever noticed. Electric kit is nice but not in my budget at the moment.

View attachment 1099506

Love it! That sound like the kind of dodgy thing I would do. My parking brake sticks so I used to carry a block of wood under the driver's seat to chock the rear wheel whenever I parked.
I don't need it anymore though, I just lay down next to the car, reach under and manually tweak the cables to release the brakes. Much classier.

 

[moparedtn]

She runs!! I almost can't believe it! It's been just over 2 years since I started taking it apart and if I'm honest there were plenty of times where I thought "I'll never get this back together." All the gauges work, except maybe temp, I wasn't able to run it for long. I need to get it outside to run it long enough to get it warmed up, it's baking the paint on the headers and I'd rather do that out of the garage.

I chased a no start issue for a bit, but tracked it down to a loose bulkhead connector. The American Autowire harness tells you to epoxy the connectors from the back side to secure/waterproof them. I held off on that to make sure I hadn't screwed anything up. No big deal.

- One small trans leak from a loose fitting. Fixed!
- One small fuel leak from a bad hose end. On the list!
- Fuel regulator probably needs tuning.
- Wired up the door switches and courtesy lights.

I am not able to start it from the key in Park. I went under the car and probed the NSS and I only get ground in Neutral, not Park. Not sure if that's right, I think I should get ground when in Park? I'll post up in the appropriate section. Maybe something happened when the trans was rebuilt?

Here's a short video of it running. Still lots to do to get it back on the road but it's all relatively small stuff I'm much more familiar with, so those parts should go quickly!

It's a wonderful thing when they spring to life again!

 

[#soarertompa]

She runs!! I almost can't believe it! It's been just over 2 years since I started taking it apart and if I'm honest there were plenty of times where I thought "I'll never get this back together." All the gauges work, except maybe temp, I wasn't able to run it for long. I need to get it outside to run it long enough to get it warmed up, it's baking the paint on the headers and I'd rather do that out of the garage.

I chased a no start issue for a bit, but tracked it down to a loose bulkhead connector. The American Autowire harness tells you to epoxy the connectors from the back side to secure/waterproof them. I held off on that to make sure I hadn't screwed anything up. No big deal.

- One small trans leak from a loose fitting. Fixed!
- One small fuel leak from a bad hose end. On the list!
- Fuel regulator probably needs tuning.
- Wired up the door switches and courtesy lights.

I am not able to start it from the key in Park. I went under the car and probed the NSS and I only get ground in Neutral, not Park. Not sure if that's right, I think I should get ground when in Park? I'll post up in the appropriate section. Maybe something happened when the trans was rebuilt?

Here's a short video of it running. Still lots to do to get it back on the road but it's all relatively small stuff I'm much more familiar with, so those parts should go quickly!

Thats awsome!! First startup after any major overhaul is a milestone in any bulid.

 

[The Rebel]

Looks & sounds great!

 

[funknut]

Thanks, everyone, for tuning in.

Lucky discovery today as I was installing the temp sensor for the electric fans. I’m using a threaded sensor and was installing in one of the ports on the water pump. When I pulled the pipe plug and looked inside it was full of sand:

No doubt casting sand that was never cleaned out. When I installed the pump I checked all the open ports but this one was already plugged and I didn’t think to open it. Luckily it’s only been run for a few minutes. Hopefully there wasn’t a bunch more that got into the coolant passages.

A couple minutes with a pick and a vacuum and all is clear

lesson learned for next time!

 

[funknut]

Parking brake install is done! Needs a tiny bit of adjustment to pull the pedal all the way up when disengaged, but 99.5% done.

That was my last job under the car for now. Tomorrow it comes down to put the driver fender and grill on. I still need to modify the fender to clear the wiring harness. Will probably do that later tonight.